Chapter 11

R ising up from the dark water before us was a mountain, topped with a palace that looked like it was made from night itself. Hundreds of tight, sharp spires stabbed at the twilight sky like narrow blades. Sparkling lights, like stars, glittered across the structure, drawing attention to various angular bridges and archways. Below the palace, the mountainside was covered in clusters of buildings, hewn from ledges in the rocky surface. Lights flickered in the small buildings, flashes of color and movement only just visible from our distance.

Lightning sparked in the distant sky, purple and bright as it hit the water beyond the mountain. It reflected off the black surface of the palace, and the star-like lights glimmered every color of the rainbow before they faded.

I had expected the Shadow Court to be gloomy. Enough light to cause shadow, but dark compared to the brightness of the Gold Court.

It was dark, compared to the constant shimmering light I was used to, but there was no way it could be described as gloomy. It glittered just as much as the Gold Court, but in such a different way.

It was beautiful. A word I would never, ever have thought to associate with the shadow-fae or their Court.

I felt eyes on me and dragged my gaze away from the view. The Prince was watching me, grey eyes bright.

I glared back at him, some of my awe slipping away as I remembered why I was there.

His eyes narrowed, then he lifted his staff. Shadows burst from the end of it, moving to fill our sail. With a lurch, the boat sped up. Within minutes we had reached the base of the mountain. The closest villages were on a level carved out of the mountain about six feet above the water, and many long piers led to tied-up boats, some huge longboats, and some tinier than the one we were in.

I expected to move to one of the piers, but the boat angled to the side. The shadows flew at what looked like a jagged piece of rock face, and my lips parted in surprise as they merged together to form a shape that looked like an archway. The Prince held his staff up, glowing, and the shadows rushed back, leaving an actual archway in the rock.

The boat sailed through the opening, and we were engulfed in utter darkness for an alarming moment before the torch at the end of the serpent’s tongue flickered to life.

“Where are we going?”

“To the palace. When we reach it, you must be silent. Is that understood?” Frima’s quiet words were clipped, and I could see the tension in her stance.

I looked at the other two warriors. Both were alert and straight, hands close to their weapons. I frowned.

Was this any way for a Prince to return to his home, victorious from a raid? Sailing silently through the darkness, rather than parading his victory through the villages on his way up to his mighty palace?

“Are you sneaking into your own palace?”

Frima turned to me with a glare, and in the dim light her mask was enough to startle me. “I asked you if you understood me,” she snarled.

“Yes. What happens if I choose to ignore you?”

The Prince answered, without turning. “Then death will be a welcome relief.”

I swallowed, instinctively looking to Lhoris. He nodded. “We will do as you bid,” he said, and it was clear the statement was as much to me as our captors.

* * *

A few moments later we entered a large cavern, long spiky pieces of rock dripping down from the ceiling unnervingly. The boat reached a dark beach at the back, and I wasted no time clambering over the side and onto land. Feeling the sand beneath my boots was a relief after such a long time on the water. And there was nowhere to run on a boat.

The warriors resumed the same formation they had when we had left the Gold Court palace, the Prince in the lead and Svangrior at our back. Frima and Ellisar held torches that lit a steep pathway leading from the cavern, just wide enough for us all. It smelled damp, and the air was cooler than I was used to.

My nerves were tight as we walked, and I refused to give up hope of running. There’s nowhere to go yet, but when we reached the end of the path up out of the rock…

Except when the path did finally end, it was in an iron-bolted door. More than ten feet tall and covered in bands of heavy metal, there was no way it could be opened by a human.

The Prince moved his staff, and in the darkness I was only just able to make out his shadows swirling into the large lock on the door. There was a loud click, and it swung open.

We emerged into a small antechamber, the ceiling high and walls painted a shimmery gray.

I looked around, trying to spot anything that could be used as a weapon, but the room was empty save for a tall cupboard on one side, made from rich dark wood.

The floor was tiled in white and black squares, and I noticed none of our captors’ feet made a sound on the tiles as we crept across the room to the only other door.

We really did appear to be sneaking into the Prince’s own palace. What in the name of Odin was going on?

Frima opened the door, poked her head out, then ducked back inside. “Clear,” she whispered. With a nod, the Prince pushed the door open. Ellisar handed me something, and I looked down at it. A hooded cloak.

I scowled at him.

“Put it on,” he whispered.

“Why?”

“Just fucking do as you’re told,” Svangrior hissed from behind me. A warning look from Lhoris made my argument die on my lips, and I shrugged the cloak on. Ellisar yanked the hood over my head before I had a chance, then Svangrior gave me a shove in the back. I stumbled and caught up the Prince and Frima as they stepped out into the hallway beyond.

With a significant increase in pace, they headed toward an epic staircase in the center of the tiled hall. I tried to look around, but the hood was so low I struggled to see much more than the legs of the Prince in front of me and the black and white tiles.

“Prince Andask!” The voice was loud and shrill, and everyone halted immediately.

“Fuck,” hissed Frima from my right. I looked up, and she elbowed me hard. “Keep your head down,” she whispered.

My pulse raced as footsteps approached us. The Prince was obviously trying to hide us, but I couldn't fathom why. Did he want us for a purpose so nefarious that the rest of the Shadow Court wouldn't approve? Was whoever had just blown his secret attempt into the palace a blessing, or would they make our situation worse?

“Is it true you led a raid on the Gold Court?” a pompous male voice asked.

“It is true. Now, I must adjourn to my chambers. I will meet with you later.”

“But wait, my Prince, you have brought human captives back?” There was a note of hope in his voice.

“They are for my own pleasure,” the Prince barked. Feet moved into my view, bejeweled slippers with steel toes.

“Oh, but Prince Andask, is that what I think it is?”

Kara made a small whimper and I couldn’t help lifting my head. Frima let out a hiss of annoyance, but I didn’t care.

A small male fae, balding and overweight and dressed in black robes covered in silver and emerald gemstones, was leering at Kara. More specifically, at her wrist.

“You brought us gold-givers ?” The male’s voice was quivering with excitement, and fear caused anger to surge through my gut. He looked at me, and I recognized the cruel glint in his eyes immediately. I’d seen it in a hundred fae, and some humans too.

I bared my teeth at him, and he smiled as he moved his gaze to Lhoris. “Your mother will be pleased.”

“My mother is dead.” The Prince’s words were harsh, and the male moved his eyes back to him.

“Forgive me, Prince Andask, you know the new palace decree. I must refer to our Queen as your mother.”

The Prince said nothing for a long moment, and I was sure everyone must have been able to hear my racing heart. “I will present them to her in an hour,” he said eventually, his tone as sharp as a blade.

“I’m sorry, my Prince. She is in the throne room now, and I cannot let her wait for this glorious treat.” The male’s voice was sickly sweet. Whoever he was, the Prince was twice his size, and surely held more authority. Yet instead of smiting him, or telling him to go and fuck himself, he inclined his head the slightest inch.

“Fine. We shall meet the Queen now.”